Man Group shares dive as choppy markets spark fall in assets under management
Shares in Man Group plunged nearly six per cent this morning after it reported a dip in its assets under management and warned that market turbulence may lead to volatile flows in the months ahead.
The FTSE-250 investor said assets under management fell to $142.3bn at the end of June, down from $148.6bn at the end of last year, as market volatility in the first half of the year led to a negative investment performance of $4.9bn.
Bosses racked the negative performance up to “broad exposure to global equities” with its GLG Continental European strategy suffering a 27.3 per cent battering due to a bias towards growth stocks, which have weathered sharp declines in the first six months of the year.
In a statement today, Man Group boss Luke Ellis said it had been a “strong period” for the group however amidst a “volatile market environment”.
“Strong performance from our absolute return strategies, positive alpha from our long-only strategies, net inflows 2.7 per cent ahead of the industry, and a 28 per cent increase in core earnings per share reflect the quality of our people, the benefit of our technology, and the attractiveness of our differentiated business model,” he said.
“While we expect some volatility in flows in the near term, as clients access liquidity and rebalance their portfolios due to market movements, we remain focused on the long term.”
Inflows beat the industry average at $3.2bn in the six months to June however, bucking the cautiousness that has caused asset managers to be hit by streams of investors pulling their cash from funds as they look to swerve market volatility.
Profits surged 35.7 per cent despite the volatility, hitting $380m, up from $280m on the same period last year.
Shares in the group are currently trading down 4.67 per cent today.